Mr. Joshua Zarka began his service as Minister for Congressional Affairs in August 2011. Prior to his posting in Washington, he served as Special Envoy of the Foreign Minister to the Arabian Gulf from 2009-2011.

Mr. Zarka received a B.A. in Economics and History from Hebrew University in 1989. He then served as an economist at the Israeli Ministry of Finance before joining the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1991. Mr. Zarka began his diplomatic career overseas with postings in the Ivory Coast and Montreal from 1993-1998. On his return to Israel, he served as a Deputy Director at the MFA from 1998-2002, responsible for the development of diplomatic relations with the GCC. He continued overseas work as Israel’s Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva from 2002-2006, followed by his positions as Counselor in the Division of Strategic Affairs at the MFA (2006-2007) and Director of External Relations at the Israel Atomic Energy Commission (2007-2009).

Mr. Zarka is fluent in Hebrew, English and French. He is married to Esther and has four children, two of whom are currently serving in the IDF.